As Catholic Schools close, more students seek Catholic education online

Catholic schools are closing across the United States, forcing families to make tough choices about how they will educate their children. Some are turning to online solutions like Catholic Online School. 

Catholic schools are closing, but there's a solution online.

Highlights

By Marshall Connolly (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
10/6/2020 (4 years ago)

Published in Marriage & Family

Keywords: Catholic, school, online, closures, learning, education

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Catholic schools remain in decline, a decline exacerbated by COVID-19 and economic recession.

The decline for Catholic schools stretches back decades. As schools replaced religious educators with secular teachers, costs rose and the curriculum became more secularized. The impact of this change has been fewer students pursuing religious vocations and the decline of our religious communities. In a broader sense, the Church in the United States is also suffering from the same problem. The root of this problem is both social and economic, and there is no one single cause for the decline of the Catholic school system in the USA. But the replacement of religious brothers and sisters hasn't helped. 

Since last year, about 2 percent of the 6,183 Catholic schools in the United States are now closed, according to the National Catholic Educational Association. The rate of school closures is about 50 percent higher than the year before. 

In other words, Catholic schools were in trouble before COVID and the recession, now they are doubly so. 

With parents wanting a Catholic education for their children, but options disappearing, or becoming prohibitively expensive, Catholic Online School is developing a solution. 

At this time, there are more than 383,000 student enrollments on CatholicOnline.School, from 193 countries. 

Catholic Online School is dedicated to providing a free, world-class Catholic education for anyone, anywhere. The school has thousands of lessons produced, and the number grows weekly. Complete academic curriculums for Confirmation, First Confession and Reconciliation, and Communion are being published. Confirmation is complete, and Confession and Reconciliation is coming within weeks. 

Other courses include the Ten Commandments, Moral Theology, The Way of Christ, The Explore the Bible series, and Daily Readings with Questions for Reflection. There are also hundreds of lessons on the saints. 

Catholic Online School is also offering Live Lessons, a series of interactive, online courses taught live. The school is growing rapidly with more courses coming soon and more live lessons being developed. 

Catholic Online School is dedicated to the teaching mission of the Church, and all courses taught in the school are reviewed for magisterial accuracy. 

The school is a resource with broad appeal, and it isn't just for school age students. A growing number of adults are taking courses to reconnect with their faith. Many courses, such as The Way of Christ, provide a great refresher for longtime Catholics. Some just like to test their knowledge using the Catholic Knowledge Assessment. 

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Catholic Online School is a great resource for homeschoolers, as well as for teachers who want something to add to their curriculum. Every course in the school comes with a full lesson plan, including objectives, a video and script, assessment, and answer key. Additional resources for further learning are included.

And it's all free. Catholic Online School is supported by the generous support of people around the world who believe in the transformative power of the Word, and Catholic education. 

Those who wish to enroll should start here. 

Anyone who wants to support this mission should click here. 

And if you want to volunteer to become part of this mission, click here!